Introduction to information graphics and data visualization

Alberto Cairo, author of The Functional Art, found my review of his book and wrote me a very gracious note to let me know about an online course he’s teaching about infographics and data visualization. The first offering of the six-week course began October 28 and saw an enrolment of 2,000 students; a second offering is scheduled for January 2013. It’s completely free, and you can register here.

Cairo tells me that although he designed the course with journalists in mind, the diversity of backgrounds among his current students is huge, from epidemiology to statistics to cartography—as well as journalism.

The course, he says, will help fill in the gaps I identified in The Functional Art—namely, the details of how to put the theory he presents into practice. Further, he’s at work on another book that focuses more on that aspect of information visualization. If it’s as cogent and clear as The Functional Art, it will be a valuable reference indeed.